PAN India's Comments/Suggestions on the Draft Banning of Insecticides Order 2020
6th August 2020
In a gazette notification issued on 14thof May 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture proposed a draft order intended to ban the 27 pesticides and sought comments or suggestions from stakeholders.
Recognising that the proposal of banning 27 pesticides is a responsible, welcoming development and timely decision from the Ministry of Agriculture for protecting public health and environmental well being in India, PAN India strongly recommends the Agriculture Ministry to ban all these 27 pesticides without delay. Further PAN India urges the Agriculture Ministry to review all the remaining pesticides registered in India with the same criteria used for assessing the 27 chemicals and come up with stringent regulatory measures, including a possible ban of more hazardous pesticides.
Some of the pesticides proposed for ban are implicated in both occupational and self-poisonings in India. Monocrotophos, quinalphos, chlorpyriphos, acephate and malathion were reported as pesticides responsible for poisoning deaths in India. Therefore banning them is expected to bring down poisoning incidences and ensuring a safe working environment in the country.
Further PAN India proposed that, non chemical farming practices needs much more support from the government and farmers needs to be handhold for taking up and extending such farming methods. Support in terms of subsidies, incentives and marketing assistance etc. needs to be enhanced for encouraging farming communities to move forward with non-chemical farming methods focussing on agroecological principles and thus to have fair access in the international market. Additionally, PAN India recommends the ministry of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare to put in efforts and facilitate encouraging the manufacturers of these toxic pesticides to come up with non toxic pest control products that help boost sustainable, non-chemical farming methods.
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